So when I opened my eyes and found I lay in a room with two tan people, I picked up the closest item next to me, which happened to be a glass of water, and chucked it across the room.  It hit a wall with a sickening crash and small glass pieces rained down on the floor.  I heard a gasp, but I had already pulled the blankets made of a soft fabric I had never felt before over my head. 

                A woman spoke in a soft tone. “Zack, who is she?  What do you want us to do with her?”  I couldn’t believe that I’d finally be able to put to use all those years of studying the English language for Learning. 

                “Mom, I told you I don’t know.”  It was him.  It was his voice, the one that had asked me to stay with him.  The one that had said, “Crap, don’t faint again.”  Whatever that means.  “She fainted on the beach and I helped her.  Did you want me to just leave her there?” 

                “God, no, Zack.  You did the right thing.  She’s obviously not from around here.  Where do you find such white skin?”  The woman asked.

                “Parfana.”  I sat up.  The two froze when they heard my voice.  “I come from Parfana.”  My voice sounded high, and so much sweeter and stronger than either of theirs.  My Parfanite accent caused me to click on the letter ‘c’. 

                My eyes quickly took in detail I had failed to notice when I broke the glass.  Gray streaked through the woman’s brown hair.  She wore denim pants and a shirt of such an obnoxious color and pattern I had to close my eyes to keep strange feelings down.  She had a few wrinkles, just like the Elders of Parfana. The Elders were all who reached age fifty, which was an accomplishment on my planet because disease and crazed, ferocious animals constantly pestered civilization.  The woman sat in a dark green chair in the corner, and he stood next to her, his hands in the pockets of his plaid shorts, apparently used for swimming.  I lay on a couch wrapped in leather.  Parfana’s furniture was all made of stone.  Trees did not grow on Parfana, though I learned about them in Learning.  But Parfana’s home to Stone Mountain, made purely of rock.  The founders of Parfana developed a machine to cut through the stone to make houses and furniture for their people. 

                I guess you could say Parfanites are far smarter than those here on Earth.  Maybe our brains are programmed different.  I don’t know.  But as proof, humans didn’t even know Parfana existed, yet a Parfanite like myself was able to travel to Earth.  Pretty high-tech. 

                At Learning, the teacher told the class that humans called us aliens.  I liked the sound of the name, but the teacher claimed it was offensive. And as I lay in that bed, I wasn’t sure if I was a secret.  If humans were supposed to know about me, about Parfana.  If I should be telling these people.  But curiosity won over.

                “My planet is at war with Egan.  My parents sent me here so I would be safe.”  I stood, still wearing my white tunic, woven of white grastis, a material somewhat similar to grass.  My hair was still arranged in the intricate design on the top of my head.  It took my mother a short time to get the job done, but the result was thrilling.  Little squares, less than, a, ah, centimeter (an Earth term of measurement), covered my head.  Each square had a white bead in the middle. 

                I crossed my arms over my chest in a sign of greeting.  The woman and Zack stared.